Sati (13 page)

'I'mafraid I can't dothat,'Nick said, cracking his knuckles.

Sati closed her eyes for a second, then reopenedthem. In that brief moment, her face had changed.

Suddenly,it was stern.' You'll do as I say,'she said.

Nick dropped his arms to his sides. I found I had taken a step away from her. The chatter in the room ceased. I could almost hear my heartbeat Sati turned behind her.

'They will not harm you, William,'she said to the minister.

'Sati,'I began.

'Be silent, Michael.'She raised her hand -the one she was offering to sacrifice - to stop others from protesting. But her tone returned to normal, softening. 'Shh, be quiet, all of you. Nothing can hurt me.'

Reverend Green slowly emerged from his hiding-place,coming round Sati on her rightOnce again she laid her right hand onthe table besidethe vase of flowers. It occurred to methen - it was really an extraneousthought -that I didn't know if she was right-handed or left-handed. She seemed to useboth equally well.

'I've got to say onething for you, girl,'Reverend Green said.' You know how to put on a show.'

Sati nodded.

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The minister weighedthe hammer in his hand.' Are you sure you want to gothroughwiththis?'he asked.

'Are you?'she said.

He fidgeted.' You're nothing.'

'AmI?'

He reached out and centred the nail in her palm. I could not believe I was allowing it to happen. I had to ask myself ifIwasthe one who wanted a demonstration. Butthat could not be possible, Ithought. There was nothing I wanted from Sati. There was nothing she had to prove to me. She wasn't God. There almost certainly wasn't one.

A faint whimpering sound caught my attention. It wasLori , of all people, with tears streaming over her cheeks.' You're not smiling,'Reverend Green said. Satismiled warmly for him. The minister quickly removed the nail from her palm. He was getting exasperated. He wasn't quite the psycho he appeared, I realised. He must have listened to Mrs Hutchinson half the day on the phone and got himself all worked up about all the ways he would set Satistraight. He had probably brought the nail and hammer thinking she would back down. Yet here she was, goading him to go through with it.

I realised she could very well forcehim to do it.' I could damage your nerves,'he said.

'You could,'Sati said.

'But nerves don't heal. I don't think you know what you're doing.'

'It is you who are doing it.'

'Look, even the Lord cried out when the Romans tortured him. What makes you think you are greater than he?'

Sati spoke softly,'Inever cried out.'Reverend Green stuck his nail back in her hand.' Your insolence will be the death of you.'He raised the hammer.' I'm going to do it.'Sati nodded, watching him.

'You'll bleed just like anyone else. You're no better.'

'Do it.'

He stood frozen for ever. Then he let the hammer fall. It hit the head of the nail squarely. The room choked on the sound of the contact. Sati kept right on smiling.

She wasn't bleeding. Reverend Green had lost his nerve. At the last instant, he'd moved the nail aside. It was now stuck in the table, between her fingers.

'You missed,'Sati said, a note of irony in her voice. My paralysis left me. Striding forward, I snatched the hammer from Reverend Green's hand and shoved him back. It was Sati, however, whom I glared at.'

You're wearing on my bliss,'I said.

She laughed.' Does this mean you're not going to give William another whack at me?'

Reverend Green was standing as if he were in shock. He swallowed thickly.' I didn't want to hurt you,'he
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murmured.

'Could have fooled me,'Timmy said.

'You haven't hurt me,'Sati reassured Reverend Green, flexing her hand for all to see.

Green was still a stubborn minister.' This proves nothing.'

Sati nodded.' You love your God. You are a fine person. Butyou need to learn to love other people's God, too. And you will.'She bid him come closer. She reached for her plate of goodies.' Have a cookie.'

Reverend Green glanced at the people in the audience - who weren't by any stretch of the imagination fans of his - and decided it was no time for dessert.' I'd better go ... Sati,'he stammered, moving to leave.

She grabbed his hand and squeezed it gently.' You said my name, William. That is good. That is a beginning.'

He gave her a last look, his cocky expression having given way to confusion, and then left.

Mrs Hutchinson did not go after him. Glancing at Sati'shands, then at her own, she returned to her seat and sat down.

Sati finished the lecture with a minute of silence. It was quite potent. It erased the tension from the room.

'We'll meet again tomorrow night,'she told the audi-ence when they opened their eyes.' Same time,same place. Feel free to bring your family and friends. Thank you for coming.'She stood and spoke to me. I'll be walking back to your apartment now.'

I had grabbed a quick seat at her feet for the minute of silence.' Can't I give you a ride?'I asked, looking up.

'Ilike to walk.'

'You know, you scared me for a moment there.' 'Not as much as I scared him.'She patted me on the top of the head.' I'll talk to you before you go to bed.'

EIGHT

It was an hour before the room cleared. People apparently like to socialise after being zapped. I talked to a few of them. The majority felt they had definitely experienced something while sitting with their eyes closed. Most described it as a feeling of peacefulness. Everyoneagreed Sati had nerves of steel.

In the end, four of us were left: David, Timmy, Nick and I. Fred had wanted to talk with me alone, but he'd had to leave withLori . The episode with the nail had upset her gready.

'We have to talk,'I said when the last guest was gone. We were arranged in a rough circle, finishing the last of Sati's cookies. Tiny white cups were scattered atop a few of the chairs. A couple of people from the previous night had brought juice. The clean-up would only take a few minutes. There was no hurry.

The bank president had told me to put the room key through the front door mail slot when we were done.

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'I'm ready to sign up,'Timmy said with a laugh.' A religion that doesn't believe in suffering is what I've been waiting for.'

'But Satisaid she didn't want to start a religion,'I said.

'Yeah, and she told me Christ didn't want to, either,'Timmy said.' It's up to us.'He punched Nick on the shoulder.' You can write the Gospel According to St Nick."

Nick smiled grimly.' What do you want to talk about, Mike?'

'Let me start with a stupid question,'I said.' Every-one who thinks she's God, raise your hand.'No one raised his hand.'N ow what?'

David leaned forward.' Is it possible that she could be telling us the truth, but that we are misunderstanding her?'

'Seems to me she's either the top boss or she's not,'Nick said.

'Then you think she's lying?'I asked.

Nick shook his head.' I don't want to say that, especially after tonight.'

"That's how I feel,'Timmy said.' I like her. She's won-derful. Maybe she isn't really God, but an angel.

She said they've got great senses of humour.'

'Please, let's not get started on angels again.'I said.' Dave, what did you mean with your question?'

Our landlord was confused, and he didn't like it.' You were the philosophy major,'he said.'I s there any middle ground here?'

I took a moment to collect my thoughts.'T here are a number of traditions in the world that deal withthe state of enlightenment. The Buddhists and the Hindus are the obvious ones, but there are also the Sufis andthe Jains. Not to mention many of the modern-day groups. They teach philosophies similar to Sati's:th at everything is pure being, and nothing else. That there is only one being, and that we are all ultimately it.

In most of these traditions, when a man gains full enlightenment, he is said to be identical to the supreme being. Sati herself has indicated that when we really know her, we become her.'

'Then you're saying Sati could simply be an enlightened person?'David asked.

'I'llgo forthat,'Nick put in.' Those yogis in India are supposed to have all kinds of unusual powers. I once saw a photograph of one of those guys floating inthe air.'

Timmy seconded the idea.' She hasyogic characteristics. Notice the way she sat onthe couch this afternoon. She was in the half lotus. Also, she sits so still, tike she's meditating even when she's talking to us. And, of course, she gives off that great feeling.'

'There are two problems with this idea,'I said.' First, we can't say she is
sim
p
ly
an enlightened person, not the way she defines enlightenment. If she is, then she is all-knowing and all-powerful. There would be no differ-ence between her and God. We would be back where we started from. Second, she's not saying she's your typical master or yogi. She says her body did not come into existence until a few days ago.'

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'Does she have a belly button?'David asked. Nick and Timmy broke up. David went on,' I'm serious.

Does she?'

Timmy smiled.' I'm an expert on bodily orifices. She's got one.'

'How do you know?'I asked.

'Itickled her this afternoon,'Timmy said.

'Is she ticklish?'Nick asked.

'Extremely,'Timmy said.

'Let's not get sidetracked,'David said.

'Does a belly button mean anything?'Nick asked.'W hen she formed her body, she could have added a belly button.'

'If she didn't have one,'I said,' it would be a hell of a lot easier to believe her story.'I took a bite of a cookie. All the sugar was giving me a rush, and it didn't appear to mat-ter that God had baked them.'

Let's look at the facts. What has she done that demonstrates supernatural abilities? We've already covered her vibes. What else have we got?'

'She's not afraid of anything,'Nick said.

'She's sharp, incredibly sharp,'Timmy said.

I nodded.' She can handle a tractor and trailer. Plus she doesn't seem to need much sleep.'

'Have you seen her sleep at all?'David asked.

'I've seen her sit perfectly still in my truck for several hours with her eyes closed,'I said.

'Have you ever seen her lie down and sleep?'David asked.

'No, but I haven't spied on her in the middle of the night.'

'Check on her tonight,'David said.

‘I’ll try,'I said.

David was unhappy.' We're not getting anywhere. Ex-cept for her vibes, nothing we're listing is that out of the ordinary.'

'Yeah,'Timmy said.'Imagine howfar the apostles would have got telling people what a groove it was sitting with Jesus. They had his miracles to fall back on. We need one.'

Nick shrugged.' What about Mrs Hutchinson's hands?'

'Too vague,'I said, glancing at Timmy.' Hey, how come you're not coughing?'

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'I...' he began, before a beatific grin spread across his bony face.' I don't know. Wow, that's right. I haven't coughed since her period of silence.'

Everyone sat up.'B ut are your lungs clear?'I asked.' Take a deep breath.'

Timmy took a deep breath, and started coughing. We all sat back in our chairs.'B ut I do feel better,'

Timmy said.

'How do you feel, Mike?'Nick asked.

'You mean, my stomach? It's almost back to normal.'Nick clasped his big hands together.'But you were pretty sick. And you say you're sureS atidrank the same spoiled milk that you did.'

'What's this?'David asked.

I explained what had happened, finishing with the re-mark,' It doesn't prove anything. She herself said she just has a strong stomach.'

'But she also said she could drink poison,'Timmy said.

'She said that?'David asked quickly.

'Yeah,'Timmy said.

David was impressed.' When it's come to day-to-day things, has she always been right?'

'She is extraordinarily perceptive,'I said.'W hen I picked her up, we stopped at a diner. There's a waitress who works there who lost her husband to cancer years ago. This women thinks about him constantly. She's never remarried. Satinoticed her wedding ring and said,I quote, "The ring is very nice.

You wear it well."'

'So?'David said.

'I've known Penny a long time,'I said.' I've never told her that, but it's something I've often thought. Sati seemed to grasp Penny's background immediately.'I shrugged.' Then again, she might have simply meant that the ring looked nice on Penny's finger.'

'Anything else?'David asked.

'Yes,'I said.' She predicted yesterday morning that no one would complain to the
Times
about the flyers she stuck in Fred's papers. So far,according to Fred, no one has. She often refers to things that end up happening. She told my daughter she would see her at yesterday's meeting. It looked like a remote possibility at the time, but Jenny ended up coming. She told me I would be here tonight, and here I am.'

'But she turned offyour alarm, didn't she?'Timmy asked,yawning loudly.' She arranged for you to be here

.' 'That's true,'I said.

Our profound discussion faltered. The four of us sat eating cookies and wishing they would magically multiply into thousands, as fish and loaves of bread were reputed to do on such occasions. Timmy started to cough again.' Hey, man,you should be in bed,'Nick said.' Let me take you home.'

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Timmy nodded.' I should go, yeah. But it's been nice to get outl ike this, and be around people.'

The innocent remark made it hard for me to swal-low the bite of cookie I had in my mouth. Timmy's parents had disowned him five years earlier when he had told them he was gay. They didn't even know he was dying. He had no brothers or sisters. He had no money. It was sad,all he had was us.